Dancing & music & Wind

. . . …Awards to our Brittany in California …

Sunday, Feb 4

Early morning alarm from cat Rascal, meowing loudly up and down the hallway and into the bedroom that he was trying to tell us something. Same with Brittany Annie’s behavior. They both wanted out to go potty. Normally, they go out the doggie door on their own, but the winds had blown the rug on the ramp up over the two-door access to the doggie “window” door. Annie could probably have pushed through, but the cat couldn’t.

Speaking of winds, they have started again this morning. I hope they don’t blow as long and hard as yesterday.

Late last night we published the blog.

First thing John did this morning was put a large pork roast in the oven, feed the cats, and then out to feed the livestock. I stayed to proof the blog, and found some corrections to make and add.

I finished getting the videos and photos taken Friday at the Heart Attack talk off to the people involved, and this photo I pulled from the Facebook site of the senior center. I should have used it in last week’s blog to go with the information presented. Back middle is Dave Jones (speaker) with Jessi Broderius (AmeriCorps). She’s known Dave for years and set up this presentation. They are horse people.
John and I are in the back right, in front of them.

The next photo happened today in California, in a Brittany Field Trial. That’s our Daisy on point, with Jeri Conklin handling the bird. Daisy had a good run, with finds, and handled them all to perfection, but sadly did not place. Stiff competition.This cheered me up to see on the anniversary of my father’s death, when I was only 14 yrs old. He was my best friend and taught me an incredible amount of things I have used all my life.

Monday, Feb 5

From Feb 4, slept 7 ½ hrs.

A shopping day: We left after feeding the animals and drove both cars to the senior center parking lot, where John left his car. We drove my car, as it only had 100 miles left to go. We did it that way, so we could drive to Costco and come back in time for my exercise class, SAIL, at 1:30, and he could continue home with the “goods.”

We filled up my tank at a good price, $.30/gal less than EBRG’s lowest price. We loaded our cart with all we went for, except one item, which was on order, with nothing on the shelf or in the “back.” I also visited the pharmacy and left my GoodRX coupon for 3 months down the road, when I need to refill my Atorvastatin. The price is the lowest in the EBRG/Yakima area. We also bought a spiral-cut ham for $5.00 off. John will cut off the spirals, repackage and freeze. The remaining third will be baked until tender.
Other stuff was normal stuff we regularly get there. Pate’ cat food is 3¢/can cheaper than any place in our town. We still tallied $242.53 (including tax on the non-human food items). Much of the stuff will last 6 months.

We got back to the senior center with time to spare. I met Krystal Carlson-Tirey in the parking lot at 2:30. She delivered a printer for my neighbor on her way to pick up her daughter at school. She threw in 2 ink cartridges (multi-color) because they don’t fit her new printer. This was a free gift on Buy Nothing East Ellensburg/K/V Facebook site.

Tonight before supper, John fixed us a pan plus 3 custard cups of brownies with our own grown Carpathian walnuts, chopped up. Then after supper, he frosted them with cream cheese frosting. We enjoyed them the rest of this week.
Then we had another wonderful dinner tonight, with the main part being his well-cooked pork roast from the weekend, mushrooms, and onions, with other things, too.

Tomorrow morning he leaves (7:30 a.m.) for his first of the season volunteering wine grapevine pruning at White Heron Cellars, in the Mariposa Vineyard – an hour 20 minute trip one way. This starts in February, for 3 hours, 3-4 days a week for over a month. He absolutely loves it every year. You can look below in his weekly column for a winter picture of the vineyard, overlooking the Columbia River at the old platted town of Trinidad (a never built land scam). Still, Trinidad shows up on Google Earth.

Tuesday, Feb 6

John left at 7:30 a.m. for pruning, after feeding the horses.

I’m going to Bi-Mart and Line Dancing class before he gets back home.Line Dancing class at the senior center, teacher Carol Cummings, white shirt, left of center.

No pictures of the first lesson, learning the grapevine plus some more changing directions steps. Need a video of that.Intro lesson on hands ^^

Parts of the hand movements, on elbows, and on hips & swivel.

I put a request for an extra wireless router out on 3 free Facebook sites, to help run the printer mentioned above.

I also put a request in search for a pair of size 18 blue (or other colored) jeans. My request was needed because I wore my size 20 ones today go my first Line Dancing class at the senior center and realized they’re bigger than they need to be, except for wearing over other pants for cold weather outside bonfires (as at White Heron the end of December) for a Raclette for the pruners and their families.

We intended to go to bed earlier tonight, but failed.

Wednesday, Feb 7

– from Feb 6, slept 7 ½ hrs.

I participated in FISH food bank soup kitchen music, followed by SAIL class.

Old TV stuff: I haven’t located this at a link that’s not on Facebook, but a few of our readers do have Facebook accounts and will be able to reach this. It’s well worth the time. You’ll probably have tears in your eyes, watching some parts of it (17- year compendium) of:

One kitty was in for morning vittles just as John was getting ready to leave about 7:30 a.m. He fed that one and headed up the driveway. I fed the others after he departed.

My funny start to the day came in an email addressed to John about an old car I hated for the 2 years I had it. If I drove it for over an hour anywhere, my back hurt severely. Finally, traded it in for my favorite car (since my ’35 Ford), a 2004 Subaru that introduced us to the line of vehicles we have stayed with. Here is the email received:

Dear JOHN,

Based on our records, your 2000 FORD TAURUS is due for its 205,000 mile manufacturer recommended service. I telephoned Chad at Seth’s and he got a laugh out of it as well. I told him I would click on the Remove Vehicle and I did. Then I also wrote a note to Justin Seth, the owner. We started taking our cars there when I first came to town in 1988, and his father Jack ran the business. The business started in 1955 with his grandfather.

Lee Gobroski brought me a wireless router to Meadows before we entered for our music. He delivered at 1:30 on the button, in his Black Crosstrek. I gave it to my neighbor late afternoon when I got home.

We had a huge turnout of audience and players: Tim, Haley, Amy, Sharon, Nancy, Rita (who brought me my blouse with newly fixed button hole that came unraveled), Dean, Charlie, Gerald, Manord, Maury, Minerva, Laura, and Danny (her son), who also joined the group, singing and playing guitar or spoons.

After music at the Meadows, I took blouses I found in my larger stuff for a gal that lives 13 miles west of our house, to pick up a pair of burgundy jeans with a fancy blouse, that she gave me. Now I have jeans that fit for my Line Dancing class this week.

Welcome to the Windy City:
(these data are from the airport, 5 miles south of our house) Friday, Feb 9

– for Feb 8, in bed 8 hrs., but it was an interrupted, restless “sleep.” The wind quit about the time to get up. John did. I slept after he left.

I was quite tired from a busy week so slept in, after seeing John off to White Heron and feeding the cats.
John called late (12:20) from Quincy, to say they stayed over 15 minutes and finished the end of the rows. Still only 3 pruners participating. Week started with just Cameron and John (Tuesday). Now John will stop at the grocery store to pick up a head of lettuce for me, and be home by 1:50 probably.

I fixed my brunch and will work on loading the dishwasher and trying on jeans I picked up yesterday. I did, and after John got home, and took Annie for a spin through the pasture, I drove over to my friends’ to pick up some special shampoo she gets for me a hairdresser’s supply shop in Yakima.

John’s out in the sun putting roofing paper back on the top of the entrance to the doggie/cat door that blew off in the storm last week. Aluminum sheets roofing has to be added and screwed down. He never quite finished the previous installation, and paid the piper this week.

Tonight, actually late afternoon, we are attending the Swauk Teanaway Grange Scholarship Dinner Fundraiser. Last year four Kittitas County high school seniors were honored as recipients (most ever, I believe). The dinner is covered by monies donated by members of the Grange and the community, and all tickets and donations received at the dinner go to the students. This program started in 2004 has given 28 awards, totaling $21,750. On our trip to the Grange in the Teanaway, I missed taking the prettiest first view of Mt. Stuart from Hwy 97. John says, “One has to love wind towers to call the view pretty.”

When we first arrived, John & I looked at the donated raffle ticket items: some scrumptious-looking baked goods and neat crafts.Colorful handiwork, very large baked items, and evening sunset.

Our table-mates we met for the first time are longtime Teanaway residents, Jane and Kris. We spent an enjoyable evening visiting with them. They faced west, and noted the beautiful sunset, so I took my camera and tried to capture it. My collage doesn’t do it justice.

Our amazing culinary dinner experience began with an Italian garden salad, served by the students. We were then treated to a buffet Italian dinner with Normandy Blend veggies, Rotini pasta, Cheese Tortellini & delicious homemade sauce with seared Sweet Italian Sausage, and garlic French bread. Dessert was a cobbler with huckleberries & raspberries, served with ice cream. Scholarship dinner parts: salad, plate, dessert

Pictured above in the middle are my servings (John’s actually was the fullest), but I pictured mine as thanks to Patti G. for the special attention on the veggies picking through to leave off the broccoli putting in carrots, squash, and cauliflower allowed on my low Vitamin K dietary restrictions. They were steamed and very tender. I nibbled a few spinach leaves from the dark green salad greens but still had tomatoes, specially colored carrots and croutons to enjoy. Dessert was uniquely good.

We got home after 5 hours away to a bunch of messages.

My co-owned Brittany in California is a Senior Hunter!
Today at 12:55 p.m., I received a phone call from Jeri Conklin, that our “Daisy” just received her SH title at the end of her registered name, for Senior Hunter. She passed the 4th leg she needed. Jeri said she almost didn’t get the phone call out to me because they were having a severe windstorm, and she would post pictures later when the connection was available.
She asked me to post a Facebook message for her now. So, here it is, with my joyfulness in hearing the great news about our Cedaridge Kip’s Camelot Shay Tre’ JH SH (Daisy). Now all she needs is to complete her Master Hunter title in the AKC hunting test competition. She’s well broke, so that should follow soon as hunt tests are held in the region, and hopefully receive her FC & AFC in field trials for the front of her name. Thanks, Jeri Conklin, (and Kurt) for all you do for her. Sonja Willitts will be thrilled to hear the news too, of her Kip’s daughter and her Tug’s sister.
I received this photo when we got back from the Grange scholarship dinner.Daisy finished her 4th leg of competition in a Hunt Test in the California desert today, with Jeri Conklin handling. She had good bird work and compliments from the judges. Now she will be (AKC confirmation pending), Cedaridge Kip’s Camelot Shay Tre’ JH SH
She has her Junior Hunter title, and this will be for Senior Hunter. Now she will be competing for her Master Hunter.
Neat about Jeri’s day in the field, as she also put a 3rd leg of SH on Daisy’s mom, Ginny.

Every day I go in my kitchen and it’s sunny outside (as today), I see a reminder of both dogs. When Jeri came to Ellensburg to pick up Ginny as a puppy (from another breeder, but with our lines), she and Kurt brought us a little solar-run flower, a Daisy! That continues to bounce a reminder of the Conklin family my way.

Sunday, Feb 11

John did morning outside chores, and spent a lot of time in the kitchen on the spiral ham, cutting off the thin slices and freezing in almost 8 oz packages. We should have many brunches and salad additions in our future. He fixed a brunch today with some ham, home fries, eggs, toast, and fruit cocktail.